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"What television does is rent us friends and relatives who are quite satisfactory. This is quite something, to rent artificial friends and relatives right inside the house."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Ethical Calculus  
  Mathematics used to determine positive social conduct.  

"Throughout the history of mankind, philosophers have grappled with the question: ‘How shall we then live?’ Ethical Calculus lays down mathematical principles uncovered by Social Psych to address this question, essentially providing calculations and functions that determine appropriate human behavior."
Technovelgy from Alpha Centauri, by Sid Meier.
Published by Fraxis Games in 1999
Additional resources -

Reminiscent of Asimov's psychohistory (from his Foundation series), although the two have different purposes. Psychohistory predicts the future based on trends; Ethical Calculus finds out the best conduct for a society.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Alpha Centauri
  More Ideas and Technology by Sid Meier
  Tech news articles related to Alpha Centauri
  Tech news articles related to works by Sid Meier

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